Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore don’t be like them, for your Father knows what things you need, before you ask him.
- BSB Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
- NKJV “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
- NASB So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
- NLT Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Don't pray like the pagans, because your Father already knows your needs before you ask. We pray to trust and commune with God, not to inform him.
Overview
Jesus grounds confident prayer in the Father's perfect knowledge and care: he knows our needs before we voice them. This does not make prayer pointless but reframes it as the expression of dependence and relationship rather than a means of overcoming God's ignorance or reluctance. The fatherly love revealed here is the foundation for the model prayer Jesus is about to give.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Matt 6:32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
- Luke 12:30For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
- Phil 4:6Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
- John 16:23–27And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
- Ps 38:9Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.
- Ps 69:17–19And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 6:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.